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The Big Number

8.7%: Last year’s pay gap between male and female CFOs

Female finance chiefs at S&P 500 companies took home less than their male peers in 2015.

The median compensation for female CFOs last year was 8.7% lower than their male counterparts, according a new study by Equilar Inc., a compensation-research firm. The midpoint in pay for men was $3.4 million, compared with $3.1 million for women. Median pay for CFOs overall rose 3% to $3.4 million.

A possible contributor to the gap: more female CFOs. Women accounted for 12.9% of S&P 500 finance chiefs in 2015, up from 8.6% in 2011.

“If you’re seeing a larger number of new executives coming in, as a whole they’re likely to be paid lower than the individuals who have been tenured for a number of years,” said Dan Marcec, Equilar’s director of content.

Executive compensation typically includes bonuses linked to performance targets and annual pay increases. That helps successful executives who are further into their tenure.

“Ultimately, what we are seeing is that outgoing male CFOs are being replaced by female CFOs, so that the males that remain are among the highest paid…but it surely isn’t moving quickly,” Mr. Marcec added.

Equilar’s study included only the 428 CFOs who were in office for their company’s entire fiscal year—55 of whom were women. As a result, Ruth Porat, the highest-paid female CFO in 2014, wasn’t included in the 2015 study. because she left
Morgan Stanley
last year to take the CFO job at
Alphabet Inc.

Ms. Porat’s 2015 compensation—for a partial year, as she joined Alphabet last May—totaled $31 million, which included a $5 million bonus and stock awards valued at $25 million, according to a proxy filing.